London Motorcycle Museum

London Motorcycle Museum
Established May 1999 (1999-05)
Location Greenford, Middlesex
England
Coordinates 51°31′51″N 0°21′16″W / 51.5309°N 0.3545°W / 51.5309; -0.3545Coordinates: 51°31′51″N 0°21′16″W / 51.5309°N 0.3545°W / 51.5309; -0.3545
Type Transport museum
Visitors 250,000
Public transit access London Underground National Rail Greenford
Website www.london-motorcycle-museum.org

London Motorcycle Museum opened in May 1999 at Oldfield Lane South, Greenford, Middlesex.[1] A charitable trust, it displays a range of over 150 classic and British motorcycles. Notable exhibits include the last Triumph Bonneville T140 out of the Meriden gates in 1983.

History

Bill Crosby, the museum’s founder, started collecting good examples of British motorcycles in 1960. The bikes were displayed at Syon Park until 1979 and then at a number of temporary locations until the site in Greenford was found. Former Coston's Farm, it had been used as an Ealing Council depot (Ravenor Depot) since the 1930s. Now run by volunteers as a charitable trust, the museum actively promotes educational visits[2] and is affiliated to the British Motorcycle Charitable Trust.[3]

Future expansion

In 2008, the museum was raising money for an extension to display another sixty motorcycles. The main building was planned as "The Home of Triumph" with special areas for other makes, military and police motorcycles.[4]

Exhibits

All the motorcycles on display are in excellent condition and represent the best examples of all the well-known makes, such as BSA, Triumph and Norton as well as less well known makers including Coventry-Eagle and Rudge. A full inventory of exhibits is listed on the museum’s official web site and includes a number of unique prototypes, such as the development Triumph Trident and motorcycles that have been featured in the media.

Exhibits range from one of the earliest motorcycles, a 1902 0rmonde 2​1⁄4 h.p. to a 1993 Royal Enfield Bullet 500 cc and include:

  • 1907 298 cc Brown Precision
  • 1921 Rudge TT 3 hp
  • 1925 596 cc Scott Flying Squirrel
  • 1925 980 cc Coventry Eagle Flying 8
  • 1937 499 cc Rudge Special
  • 1949 998 cc Vincent Rapide Series 'C'
  • 1959 Norton Dominator
  • 1966 BSA Lightning works production racer

Media appearances

The Museum's collection of racing motorcycles

Motorcycles from the London museum have featured in EastEnders, Dad's Army, A-Z of Royalty (USA-produced feature for Satellite TV) and Men & Motors ‘Full Throttle Famous’. The museum is also regularly featured in Classic Bike Guide, Classic Bike, Moto Legende (France’s main classic motorcycle magazine) and Motoiclismo (Italy’s main motorcycle magazine).[5] The museum was also featured in US TV series, American Chopper in the episode where the Teutul family of Orange County Choppers visited the United Kingdom being shown to be directed there by the actor and well-known motorcycling enthusiast, Ewan McGregor.

References

  1. ↑ "London Motorcycle Museum". Retrieved 2008-05-29.
  2. ↑ "London Motorcycle Museum". Retrieved 2008-05-29.
  3. ↑ "British Motorcycle Charitable Trust". Retrieved 29 November 2009.
  4. ↑ "London Motorcycle Museum". Retrieved 2008-05-29.
  5. ↑ "London Motorcycle Museum". Retrieved 2008-05-29.

Media related to London Motorcycle Museum at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.